West Coast veteran Jack Darling is no closer to a return with the club still unaware if he will meet the AFL’s vaccination requirements, according to The Age.
Darling and North Melbourne midfielder Jed Anderson are two of the last players to not have had at least two shots of the COVID-19 vaccine, although the Kangaroos are optimistic that Anderson will eventually comply.
Players were required to have their second jab by last Friday if they were to continue training with their respective clubs.
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With the Eagles’ March 20 season-opener against the Gold Coast Suns just under four weeks away, Darling is fast running out of time.
According to The Age, the club is expected to place the 29-year-old on an inactive list if he does not agree to receive the vaccination soon. News Corp reports state that club powerbrokers are set for a meeting this week to decide the path forward with Darling.
Despite Darling’s vaccine-hesitancy, he has not lost the support of his premiership teammates.
“It would be nice to have some clarity, but what’s going on is obviously a bit bigger. We would love to have Jack back, of course. The club is working through that,” star midfielder Dom Sheed said on Tuesday.
“The players support him and reach out to him. It’s his decision. We support him as an individual.”
Darling’s unavailability comes amid a horror pre-season campaign for the Eagles that has seen a number of players pick up injuries, namely to young ruck-forward Oscar Allen.
Allen was seen as a key cog in Adam Simpson’s forward line in Darling’s absence, with the club wary of an over-reliance on three-time All-Australian forward Josh Kennedy, who will turn 35 during the season.
The Darling drama, as well as a spate of injuries, have seen experts fearing the worst for the veteran Eagles ahead of the 2022 season.
“(It’ll be) bottom four for the Eagles, I’m calling it,” Kane Cornes told SEN.
“They’re in all sorts.”
Darling’s absence and Allen’s injury has seen defender Tom Barrass trialled up forward during the pre-season, a move that ex-Fremantle midfielder Paul Hasleby doesn’t believe will work.
“I don’t see one little bit of Tom Barrass that says to me he’s a forward,” Hasleby told SEN.
“He’s a player, to me, that is genuinely strong one-on-one, beats his opponent first but then is good in the air and can read it and intercept mark the footy.
“I don’t think there’s going to be a lot of success for Tom up forward.”